Alexander lesperance



(No Model.)

A. LESPERA-NGE.

. GLUTGH.

Patented Nov. 24, 1891.

Gwimeoaea 6% 2.

NTTED STATES PATENT EEICE.

ALEXANDER LESPERANCE, OF LACONIA, NEXV HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR TO THOMAS H. VORRALL, OF SAME PLACE.

CLUTCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 463,812, dated November 24, 1891.

Application filed February 16, 1891. Serial No. 381.674. (No modell) vT0 @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER LESPER- ANCE, of Laconia, in the county of Belknap and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in 4Clutch or Coupling Mechanisms, of which the illy invention consists of improvementsv which I' will now proceed to describe and claim, reference being had to the annexed drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, the same letters designating the same parts or features, as the case may be, Wherever they occur.

In thevsaid drawings, Figure lis a sectional side view of my improved friction-clutch applied to a driving and driven shaft. Fig. 2 is a sectional end view ou the line c: x of Fig. l, a part of the means for operating the clutch being omitted. Fig. 3 is aview similar to Fig. 2, the section being taken on the line fr. of Fig. 1. I

ln the drawings, a designates the drivingshaft, and b the driven shaft or shaft to be driven.

c is a disk or flange of a hub keyed upon shaft a. (l is a similar disk or flange, splined upon'A shaft l). lt were as well, however, t-o key disk d upon its shaft and to spline disk d upon shaft d, or both disks might be splined upon their respective shafts.

c is a iiange-ring arranged to operate upon. .the outer face of the disk d, the angefof said ring extending over the periphery'of said disk d and over a shoulder g, formed on disk c. The ring e is provided in its iianged portion with dowel-pins, (represented by the dotted lines h,) which extend into holes formed in the inner face of the disk c near its circumference, whereby the ring 'c and disk c may turn in unison.

Mrepresent bolts, which are connected with the flange f of ring e, and which extend through suitable apertures formed in disk c, the construction of the ends of the said bolts which project beyond the outer face of disk c being such as to adapt the adjacent ends of cam-lever j to be fulcrumed thereon. The construction for the purpose mentioned, as here shown, consists of a fulcru n1pin 7c, passed through eyes formed in the ends of the bolts and through a hole formed in the adjacent end of the cam-lever varranged between the projecting ends of the said bolts. Nuts lare screwed upon the opposite ends of the bolts and are locked thereon by-means of plates m, bolted upon the outer face of anged ring e, as shown in Fig. 2.

n designates a collar, movable longitudinally upon the shaft d and provided 'with a groove 0 to receive a pin p or other suitable means for loosely connecting what may be considered as the free ends of the cam-levers with the collar n.

q designates a lever fulcrumed on a stud or pivot o, the said lever having its inner end provided with a fork engaging the groove s in the collar n, and its outer end provided with a toothed segment t, engaged by a pinion u, so that by rotating the said pinion in one direction or the other the cam-levers maybe moved to frictionally connect the two clutch parts or disks c d, so as to drive the shaft b from the shaft a, or so as to disconnect the said clutch parts and allow shaft a to rotate with* outeffect upon the shaft Z). Vhen it is desired to frictionally connect the two clutch parts, the pinion u will be rotated so as, through the medium of lever q, to move the collar n inward in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. l, causing the cam-levers j. to be rocked on their fulcrum-pivots, and the cam-faces o on the inner ends of said levers to bear against the outer face-of the disk c, drawing ring e and disk d toward disk c and frictionally connecting the said disks, asvmay be understood without further description.

Facings w, of leather or other suitable friction material, maybe applied in any proper way to the adjacent .faces of the two disks or clutch parts c d to enhance the frietional connection therebetween. A hardened steel plate yy may be applied to the outer face of the clutch part c at the points where the camlevers act upon the said clutch part to provide against wear at the said points. In case ot' wear of any of the parts so that the movements of the cam-levers and the action of IOO their cam-faccs 'U will not effect an elficient frictional connection of the two clutch parts, the nuts Z on bolts 'L' may be so adjusted as to secure a proper relationship of the parts and secure the desired operation thereof. I may bevel the outer face of the clutch part or disk d at its outer edge, as at e, and provide the inner face of the ring e at an opposite point with an inclined surface e", by which means a perfect alignment of shafts a and b may be maintained should there be a tendency of the said shafts to get out of alignment. Instead of making the clutch parts or one of them movable on the shafts, they may be secured thereto, and the shafts or one of them be made to move longitudinally in order to clamp the parts together, but a very slight movement being necessary to connect and discontinue the parts.

a designates holes formed through the two clutch parts for the reception of bolts to positively connect the two parts in the event of the failure of the friction means to effect a clutching of the parts. This feature of an interconvertible friction and positive clutch mechanism is very important, especially in the Operation of electric-light plants, forcepumps, the.

It is to be observed that the shaft a may be made the driving-shaft, and the shaft b the driven part, the construction and arrangement of the parts comprising the i-nvention remaining as herein shown and described, and the same functions being secured. Furthermore, the driven part of the clutch maybe a pulley or gear by which motion is transmitted to a machine or wheel; and other means than that herein shown and particularly described may be employed for clamping the disks or anges together.

Other changes, it is manifest, may be made in the form and arrangement of parts comprising the improvement without departing froln the nature or spirit of the invention.

Having thus explained the nature of my invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, I declare that what I claim is- 1. A friction'coupling comprising two friction-disks, one being provided with a beveled surface and a ring or collar provided with an inclined surface z', adapted to co-operate with the beveled surface of one of the disks, and clamping devices connected with the ring and one of the disks for clamping the two disks together, as set forth.

2. A friction coupling comprising two clutch parts, consisting of two friction disks or flanges, one arranged upon one and the other upon the other of the shafts to be connected by the coupling and one of the disks being secured to its shaft and one disk being provided with a beveled surface, a ring or collar independently movable longitndinally of the the shaft and provided with an inclined surface z, adapted to co operate with the beveled surface of one of the disks,

and clamping devices connected with the flanged'ring and one of the disks for clamping the two disks together and centering the saine, as set forth.

A friction-coupling comprising two fric tion-disks c CZ, the disk c being provided with a shoulder and one of the disks having a beveled surface, an independently-movable ring e, provided with a flange extending over the periphery of disk cl and upon the shoulder'of disk c, the said ring having an inclined surface e', adapted to co-operate with the beveled surface of one of the disks, and clamping devices connected with the ring and one of the disks for clamping the two disks together, as set forth.

al. -A friction coupling comprising two clutch parts, consisting of two friction disks or flanges, one arranged upon one and the other upon the other of the sections or shafts to be connected by the coupling and one disk being provided with a beveled surface, a flanged ring or centering-collar independently movable longitudinally of the shaft, with the flange extending over the periphery of one of the disks and upon the periphery of the other disk, the said ring being provided with an inclined surface z',adapted to co-operate with the beveled surface of one of the disks, bolts '11, provided with nuts Z, passing through saidring and one of the said disks, as set forth.

5. A friction coupling comprising two clutch parts, consisting of two friction disks or flanges, one connected with the driving and the other with the driven means, onedisk being provided with a beveled surface, a movable ring or collar adapted to operate against one clutch part and loosely connected with the other clutch part, the said ring being provided with an inclined sur face to co-operate with the beveled surface of one of the disks, and cani-levers fulcrumcd on the said connecting means and bearing on the latter clutch part to frictionally connect and release the said clutch parts, as set forth.

6. rlhe combination, with the driving and driven shafts and the clutch parts c and (Z thereon, the latter part being provided with the beveled face e, of the ring or centeringcollar c, provided with the inclined surface e and means for clamping the said ring on the said clutch part CZ and drawing the two clutch parts together in the same line or plane, and bolts fz', providedwith nuts Z, passing through said ring and one of the said disks, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 12th day of February, A. D. 1891.

ALEXANDER LESPERANCE.

lvvitnesses:

FRED L. SMITH, CHARLES Hov'r.

ICO

IIS

IZO 

